Last month, over 120 Regnum Christi men, along with 25 Legionaries of Christ, gathered in an unusually snowy Louisiana for a  Regnum Christ Men’s Conference. Several days before the conference was to be held, Louisiana was hit with over 10 inches of snow, cancelling flights and closing major highways. Despite the travel challenges and the chilly welcome, most of the participants were able to arrive at the conference and enjoy warm Louisiana hospitality, complete with cornhole, jambalaya, gumbo, parades, beer and bourbon, king cake, cigars, and fried fish and shrimp.

Held over four days, from January 23-26, the conference brought together men from across the United States and Canada for a weekend of powerful testimonies, deep moments of prayer, and heartfelt fellowship. The conference included over four hours of Eucharistic adoration with guided reflections, meditations, and the music ministry of Regnum Christi Music Collective; as well as daily Mass and rosary at the grotto, all set on the beautiful grounds of the Rosaryville Retreat Center in Ponchatoula, LA. The theme of this year’s conference, The Love of Christ Impels Us: Passionate Self-Giving, invited participants to delve into what it means to be Christian apostles, men passionately in love with Christ and deeply dedicated to the service of others.

Regnum Christi in Louisiana is made up of four distinct localities – New Orleans, Northshore, Baton Rouge, and Lafayette – and members from each of these localities collaborated to host and speak at this year’s conference. Speakers included Baton Rouge RC Director, William Stegall, Lafayette Men’s Section Director, Dr. Phillip Noel, and Louisiana ECYD Director, Fr. Jaime Lorenzo, LC. Fr. Shawn Aaron, LC, the territorial director of the Legionaries of Christ, spoke at the closing session. The registrants heard talks on a variety of topics, such as how to build (or rebuild) a successful RC men’s team; the traits, characteristics, and phases of Regnum Christi; and getting to know Christ as Son, Brother, Friend, and Father. There were also talks and testimonies on the impact of ECYD, Regnum Christi Mission Corps, marriage apostolates, and youth camps, as well as the importance of missionary zeal in positively impacting culture.

Andre Barrios is the team leader of one of the RC men’s teams in the locality of Northshore, Louisiana, and shares his experiences of the RC Men’s Conference:

The theme of the retreat was The Love of Christ Impels us to Passionate Self-Giving, but for me it can be boiled down to one word … JUMP.

At the conference, we learned about parrhesia – free and fearless confidence. We learned how to build – and re-build – our men’s teams by keeping our reservoirs full, embracing conflict, and understanding our mission. We learned to ignore the sapphires the devil throws at us and to keep our eyes on the diamonds God offers. We were given examples of men living their mission, and the importance of personal invitation. We heard powerful testimonies on marriage and youth apostolates. And God conveniently placed the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul right smack in the middle of our conference so that we could reflect on what is holding us back from our own conversion.”

Andre also shared a story that had a great impact on him at the conference:

“We heard about the rite of passage in the hometown of a certain Irish Legionary priest, Fr. Eamonn Shelly, which required the boys of the town to climb to the top of the barn and jump off. Here, boys became men. Some boys needed to start from a squat position, to feel as though they were a little closer to the ground, some took a running start from the other end of the barn, and some had to be pushed! But all the boys, however they approached it, and whether they were ready or not, made the jump. No matter how we do it, the Love of Christ Impels us to Passionate Self-Giving, and a decision needs to be made. It’s time to be different and make a difference. We need to leave this convention ready to give our all, to be all in, and make the decision to jump!”

Scott Scheuermann, Men’s Section Director for Northshore, Louisiana, worked with registration and reception at the conference, and in this role, had the unique opportunity to connect personally with each man as they arrived from across North America and beyond. “It was such an enjoyable experience, and I loved interacting with all the men and priests. From Louisiana to Canada, from New York to Seattle, Texas, Ohio, Georgia, Nebraska, and even Rome, it brought home to me how our charism in Regnum Christi reaches into all walks of life and all over the globe! We are not alone!”

For Scott, one of the highlights of the conference was hearing about the different apostolates happening across the territory and the men’s commission tasked with taking the energy built up at the conference and turning it into more work vitally needed for the mission. Like Andre, he, too felt the call to make the decision to commit fully to Christ and his mission with passionate self-giving. “You cannot wait until you are ‘fully ready’: Jump!”

Of course, the other highlight for Scott was participating in the cornhole competition, which was held as one of the many evening activities at the conference. “You have not enjoyed watching sports until you’ve witnessed the Legionaries priests compete in the Battle Royale that was the cornhole tournament. These guys really get after it when there is a championship title at stake!”